The present invention relates to the technical field concerned with providing a protection for a bundle of pipes, such as pipes for compressed air or refrigerating liquids, wires and/or leads.
These elements, may be for, instance electric wires installed on control units of automatic machines, wirings of automobiles or motor vehicles, or cables used to supply power to computers or to data transmission lines, optical fibres, or they may also be the leads used in telephonic lines.
More particularly, the present invention concerns a device for inserting wires and/or pipes in a tubular, flexible sheath with edges, that can be parted.
In these last years, the continuously growing use of electronics as a control and operating means has determined a relevant increase of the number of electric wires and leads present on an automatic machine, a control unit, or a motor vehicle, etc.
This has implied the increasing need set up more functional wiring and to distribute wires along predetermined protected and safe paths, so as to avoid their possible damages, useless encumbrance or obstacles to normal working of motors or moving mechanical means controlled thereby.
Therefore, during installation of wires and leads, it is fundamental to first tape them and insert them in protective and insulating structures, such as tubular sheaths or raceways.
Moreover, protection and insulation of all wires, leads and/or pipes from the surrounding environment is explicitly required by many security rules currently in force.
At present, the taping can be made by an operator, who spreads and set together the single cables, arranging them parallel one beside another, so as to avoid possible tangling.
After the taping has been completed, the operator inserts the group of cables thus obtained into the above mentioned protection structure.
The operator can use particular tools, such as clamps or cable terminals, which facilitate the insertion and sliding of the group of wires inside the protection structure.
Because of the wires length or due to the particular, flexible and not straight form of protection structures, inserting operation of the taped group of wires results to be extremely difficult.
Thus, this operation requires a lot of manpower and prolongs the working time, resulting in a considerable increase of total installation cost.
A Japanese document No. 7-32273 describes a device which inserts taped groups of cables in a tubular flexible sheath having edges that can be parted away, and the operation can be performed in a short time. This device includes two mirror-like portions, hinged to one each other and maintained close to each other by a spring.
Each of these portions includes a semi-tubular, longitudinal straight element, having semi-circular section, which is connected to a half-shell, hollow inside and with one end truncated. The half-shell is connected with a corresponding outer part of the semi-tubular element. The half-shell merges with the semi-tubular element according to a direction inclined with reference to the longitudinal axis of the semi-tubular element. The back parts of the element and shell match with each other in a way such that the axial dimension of the semi-tubular element is not reduced and its cross-section is maintained unchanged.
The two mirror-like portions are maintained close to each other due to the elastic action of the spring, so that the semi-tubular element of one portion, together with the corresponding semi-tubular element of the other portion, create a cylindrical channel.
The group of wires is to be inserted in this cylindrical channel.
Moreover, the half-shell of one portion, together with the corresponding half-shell of, the other portion, define an ogive-like structure, which, is to be slidably fitted into the flexible sheath.
This ogive-like structure allows to open the edges of the flexible sheath along the split, and make the sheath slide along the path defined by the two connected half-shells toward the portion mating with the semi-tubular elements, i.e. toward the outer surface of the adjacent cylindrical channel.
When the edges of the sheath are beyond the back end of the cylindrical channel, they close thus swallowing the group of wires.
The lower part of each mirror-like portion includes grasping means, formed by a wing, which is handled by the operator to define two working positions of the device.
In a first position, the wings are close to each other and the two mirror-like portions are open due to the elastic action of the spring, so that the wires can be inserted in the device, i.e. inside the cylindrical channel defined by the two joined semi-tubular elements.
In a second position, the wings are released and consequently, the two mirror-like portions abut against each other due to the elastic action of the spring, so that the group of wires can be closed inside the device.
At this point, the wires can be inserted in the flexible sheath by making this sheath slide about and along the ogive structure, which opens the sheath edges.
When they are beyond the end of the device, the opened sheath edges swallow the group of wires by closing one over another.
The above mentioned grasping means can be formed, as described in the Japanese document No. 7-107636, by pliers, which act against the elastic action of the spring, so as to open the two mirror-like portions and define the two working positions of the device.
The publication PR-B-2761826 describes a tool for inserting bundled conductors in split over-sheath. The tool has pointed head, with integral handgrip, separating the sheath edges and guiding conductors in through smooth channels
In better detail, the tool has a pointed flattened head provided at approximately 90 degrees to the head-grip. This is designed to enter a split over-sheath, which is e.g. textile-based, with one edge overlapping the other. After separation, the edges locate in grooves running along either side of the head. The conductor bundle enters, sideways, a channel passing through the head at about 20 degrees to the sheath axis, its surface coated to reduce friction. A second channel, approximately parallel to the hand-grip, crosses the first; this allows one or more conductors to be abstracted, or further conductors to be added, at any position.
The devices of this type are ready to use and obtained by simple solutions, however, their production is considerably complicated and expensive.
Moreover, due to the repeated openings of the mirror-like portions, they can be displaced and not aligned, which can result in hinges damage or spring wearing.
The object of the invention is that of providing a device which allows to insert a group of wires or cables in a tubular flexible sheath by simple and immediate operations.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a device for inserting wires or cables in a tubular flexible sheath, obtained by a compact, strong and extremely practical structure.
A further object of the present invention is to propose a device for inserting wires or cables in a tubular flexible sheath, obtained by a simple technical solution, and which is extremely reliable and cheap.
The above mentioned objects are obtained, in accordance with the contents of claims, by means of a device for inserting wires, cables, pipes in a flexible sheath, said flexible sheath including a plurality of elements, with a slit made on each said elements having two edges overlap one another in normal condition, so as to define a channel, said device including:
a cylindrical tubular body having a front end, a rear end, an upper part and lower part with a longitudinally extending split, and with a rounded, wedge-shaped member merging therewith in said upper part of said cylindrical tubular body and extending in a substantially inclined direction, with reference to the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical tubular body and convergent toward said rear end;
a sleeve having circular cross section corresponding to the cross section of said cylindrical tubular body, so that said sleeve can be fitted in the cylindrical tubular body, said sleeve being delimited by two heads, a first head and a second head respectively, with of the sleeve having a longitudinal extension such that said two heads, first and second respectively go in abutment on inner part of enlarged borders made at a front end and at a rear end of said cylindrical tubular body, so as to prevent any longitudinal translation of said sleeve with respect to said cylindrical tubular body, with a split being made along the sleeve and having dimensions equal to the split of the cylindrical tubular body, so that the sleeve can turn inside the cylindrical tubular body between two working positions, first in which the split of the sleeve matches with the split of the tubular body, so that one end of a bundle of wires or cables can be inserted in the device, and second position, in which the split of the tubular body is closed by the sleeve, so as to lock the group of cables inside the device, with said tubular flexible sheath being made to slide, in direction, around and along said wedge-shaped member, whose profile allows to elastically deform by deflection, the elements of the sheath opening their edges for introducing said bundle of wires or cables into said tubular flexible sheath through the said end of said cylindrical tubular body.